i sounded kinda cynical but I actually agree with your sentiment, on a more personal level. i have several friends whose families have been split apart (actual people moving away and excommunicated) as a result of the cult like obedience conservatives have tapped into. loyalty to television personalities over actual living breathing grandkids and siblings. truly mind blowing.
the systematic brainwashing of many people using ragebait, disinformation, and targeted messaging has revealed a deep corruption in the media ecosystem and shown us how easily many of us can be convinced of opposite views we once held sacred. there’s a principal in psychology called “belief change blindness” which essentially shows that rather than admit we were wrong, we change our minds and just forget that it happened, instead creating an internal narrative that we’ve always believed the thing we currently believe.
im convinced that the most successful political operatives in modern times have weaponized our own psychological weaknesses against us, knowingly, in the same way that game developers use rng loot drop mechanics to tap into gambling addiction reward centers.
I’m not going to rehash the horror of watching family and friends go down the rabbit hole. It’s a big ball of grief that comes in waves.
As to your supposition that psychological weaknesses were weaponized: I completely agree. I think historians will focus on it as evidence is available and time goes by, it will be considered obvious.
i sounded kinda cynical but I actually agree with your sentiment, on a more personal level. i have several friends whose families have been split apart (actual people moving away and excommunicated) as a result of the cult like obedience conservatives have tapped into. loyalty to television personalities over actual living breathing grandkids and siblings. truly mind blowing.
the systematic brainwashing of many people using ragebait, disinformation, and targeted messaging has revealed a deep corruption in the media ecosystem and shown us how easily many of us can be convinced of opposite views we once held sacred. there’s a principal in psychology called “belief change blindness” which essentially shows that rather than admit we were wrong, we change our minds and just forget that it happened, instead creating an internal narrative that we’ve always believed the thing we currently believe.
im convinced that the most successful political operatives in modern times have weaponized our own psychological weaknesses against us, knowingly, in the same way that game developers use rng loot drop mechanics to tap into gambling addiction reward centers.
I’m not going to rehash the horror of watching family and friends go down the rabbit hole. It’s a big ball of grief that comes in waves.
As to your supposition that psychological weaknesses were weaponized: I completely agree. I think historians will focus on it as evidence is available and time goes by, it will be considered obvious.